Things To Do In SW Florida

By Kimberly Palmer | NerdWallet

Financial stress is so common that certified financial planner Katie Lindquist says almost every client she has tells her they are feeling it.

“They don’t know what they should be doing with their money, and they feel like they should know. They feel shame around their money habits, which is a huge driving force of stress,” Lindquist says.

To alleviate that tension, Lindquist helps them get organized and take inventory of their financial accounts and goals. “People who have financial plans are a lot less stressed because they know where they are and where they want to go,” says Lindquist, who is based in Madison, Wisconsin.

To combat overwhelming feelings of money stress, financial experts suggest taking these steps:

Normalize the feeling

Knowing how common financial stress is can help people realize there isn’t something wrong with them when they feel it, says Bari Tessler, author of “The Art of Money” and a financial therapist in Boulder, Colorado.

“Increased financial anxiety has everything to do with interest rates, inflation, job challenges, life curveballs and world events,” Tessler says. Those stressors impact almost everybody. It can lead people to freeze and ignore their finances or to check them too obsessively, she says, neither of which is helpful. read more

Florida could become yet another state to legalize recreational marijuana after the state Supreme Court determined Monday that the question should go before the voters in November.

If approved with 60% of the vote, the constitutional amendment would allow adults 21 or older to “possess, purchase, or use” up to 3 ounces of marijuana products, as well as legalize marijuana accessories.

It would also allow medical marijuana treatment centers and other state-licensed businesses to “acquire, cultivate, process, manufacture, sell, and distribute such products and accessories.”

The approval comes two years after the court ruled a similar marijuana measure was misleading and struck it from the 2022 ballot.

This time, the court ruled 5-2 that the amendment had a singular purpose and clear language.

Republican Attorney General Ashley Moody had opposed the measure, arguing it shouldn’t be put on the ballot because it would be misleading to voters as she thought it didn’t make clear marijuana is illegal under federal law. read more

Jeff Ostrowski | (TNS) Bankrate.com

In a real estate transaction, there’s always some level of negotiation. If you’re the seller, you face haggling not only with prospective buyers, but also with the person you’re working with to seal the deal: your real estate agent.

Thanks to a federal lawsuit that was recently settled, the way real estate commissions work will change in July 2024 (pending court approval). If you’re looking to save some money, here’s what you need to know about how commissions work, and how to agree on a rate that both you and your agent can feel good about.

How real estate commission works, and who pays for it

A generation ago, real estate commission rates were typically around 6% of a home’s sale price. But the average real estate commission rate has gone down in recent years to just under 5% of a home’s sale price, according to Real Trends, a real estate research and consulting firm, and to Anywhere Real Estate, the parent of Century 21, Coldwell Banker and other brokerage brands.

Under the current system, the fee is typically paid by the seller at closing, and it’s customarily split down the middle between the seller’s agent and the buyer’s agent. (So, for a 5% commission, each agent would earn 2.5%.) On a $400,000 transaction, which is around the median sale price nationwide, the 5% fee amounts to $20,000. read more

Bill Warren, a longtime Walt Disney World executive and the founding editor of Orlando Business Journal has died. He was 68.

Warren became vice president of public affairs at Disney World in 1995 and was promoted to vice president of government relations in 2008. Later, he became district administrator for Reedy Creek Improvement District, the Disney-controlled taxing district created by the Florida Legislature to provide government services to the resort.

He worked as a business reporter in Tampa and Jacksonville before moving to Central Florida as the first editor of Orlando Business Journal in 1984. He worked at Florida Power – now known as Duke Energy – between OBJ and his first Disney role.

“He had a long career, and he was really blessed because he loved every aspect of it,” said Lisa Warren, his wife of 36 years.

He appeared frequently in the media while representing Disney World and Reedy Creek.

“When any reporter ever called him, he gave them the straight and narrow. And if he couldn’t say something, he always figured out a way to tell them they were on the right track,” Lisa Warren said. read more

Seven Central Florida restaurants shut down the week of March 24-30, according to data from the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation.

Orange

Hon Lee LLC at 18 N. Dollins Ave. K14/15 in Orlando shut down on March 25. Inspectors found 10 violations, two of which were high priority for roach activity and raw animal food stored in the same container as ready-to-eat food. The restaurant remained closed on March 26 and 27 before officials conducted a final inspection on March 28. They found zero violations as the restaurant complied with the emergency callback order.

Martin Marietta Info Systems at 100 Global Innovation Circle in Orlando shut down on March 25. Inspectors found nine violations, two of which were high priority for raw food not separated from each other and rodent activity. A second inspection took place on March 26. Officials found zero violations as the restaurant complied with the emergency order.

DoubleTree Downtown Orlando – Restaurant and DoubleTree Downtown Orlando Banquets – 2nd Floor are both located at 60 Ivanhoe Blvd. in Orlando. The first restaurant closed on March 27 with eight violations, two of which were a high priority. Those violations included rodent activity and raw food not separated from ready-to-eat food. A second inspection took place on March 28. Only one violation, a high priority, was found but it was corrected on site. The restaurant met inspection standards. read more